Learning About Her
by AshPash1392
Summary: Who is Mrs Hudson's new tenant? Will Sherlock be able to resist the mystery of a new neighbour? Asexual Sherlock/OC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just an idea that was buzzing very annoyingly around my head, that I had to write down so it would let me sleeeep! Thoughts?**

John arrived home after an exhausting day at the clinic, having worked overtime for the third time that week; with Sarah off sick with a cold, John felt like he owed her one (or two, maybe three..) after the whole "tied to a chair, nearly shot with an arrow" incident. He had been looking forward to coming home to a nice cuppa, and an uneventful evening in front of the telly, until he remembered that Sherlock had been between cases for close on a week. He groaned as he imagined the foul mood Sherlock would be in, and worse yet what state the flat would be in.

So it was in both pleasure and confusion that he stepped into a room that was in no worse shape than when he had left – there was the usual clutter about the place, but no new bullet holes in the wall or torn apart furniture. Only Sherlock sitting with his hands pressed together under his chin, as was his habit when he was in deep contemplation of something. Or as it turned out, someone. "What was your impression of her?" John sent Sherlock an exasperated look on his way past to the kitchen, "I hate it when you do that, talk as if I was here when you started the conversation" he grumbles as he sets the kettle on the stove. "But I'll bite – who are you talking about?"

Sherlock sighs "Do try and keep up John; Anita Farrow, Mrs Hudson's new tenant, did you not run into her two weeks ago?" "What, how did you even…..you know what, never mind."

Sherlock arched a brow at him "How could I not notice? Slightly flushed with pupils dilated – obviously you had just been with an attractive woman, but no self-satisfied smile, so no phone numbers were exchanged however you were hopeful of seeing her again; she must live in the area then. Your coat carried a faint whiff of a sweet perfume from where you bumped into her, the same scent that has lingered in the hallway for the past three weeks ever since furniture was moved into the flat downstairs. Also, upon questioning Mrs Hudson mentioned that she had seen you knock her new tenant down when you were rushing in one day. Terribly rude of you John."

John was reluctantly impressed, but bugger it if he would primp Sherlock's ego. He turned back to the now boiling kettle, and prepared two cups of tea, Sherlock's silence lending him hope that he would drop the subject. John had seen their new neighbour for no more than a minute, but there was something about her that had immediately drawn him in. Not just her looks – miles of wavy light brown hair, creamy skin, and soft green eyes – but something in the slight smile she had flashed at him as he was stumbling through an apology while giving her a hand up from the floor. He still regretted that he hadn't had a chance to chat with her, but she had seemed so shy as she mumbled a reply and fled to her flat, safe from any other men out to bowl her over.

"Well John, what was she like?" John sighed, knowing there was little point in not answering – Sherlock could be bloody annoying when he put his mind to it. "Why don't you ask Mrs Hudson? I only saw her for a moment, didn't speak more than a few words with her." He couldn't explain it, but he felt the need to protect the little mouse downstairs from the inquisitive cat that was Sherlock.

John handed Sherlock his cup of tea, then settled into his favourite chair and switched on the telly, determined to ignore his flat mate for the rest of the night. Lucky for him Sherlock was already lost in thought, oblivious to Johns presence. He couldn't explain it, but he was unaccountably curious about this Anita. Remembering the sad lack of interesting cases on offer at the moment he decided that she was just what he needed to keep him occupied until Lestrade inevitably hit a wall in one of his investigations. Absently sipping the cooling tea, he looked forward to figuring out the puzzle that was Anita, hoping it would keep him amused for at least a few hours the next day.


	2. Chapter 2

Stepping into her flat, Anita immediately felt a sense of security calm the anxiety that had been clawing at her insides. She didn't question the fact that she was able to find such comfort in a place she had inhabited for less than a month, let alone after the well-meant warning from her new land lady "Never mind if you hear any…well, explosions from upstairs dear. Sherlock's experiments you know – but they really are a good pair of boys." As Mrs Hudson looked like she trying to convince herself as well as her new tenant, Anita felt more than a little uneasy. However, apart from the quite literal run in with John, she had yet to be bothered by either of them.

Anita closed the door behind her and leaned against it as she took a deep cleansing breath. Knowing that the only way to avoid a full on panic-attack was through a tried-and-true routine, Anita went into autopilot; first off she needed music. Scrolling through her iPod until she came across her classical playlist, she hit play before closing her eyes for a moment to soak in the opening strains of Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata'. That done, she moved into the kitchen to set the kettle on the stove. As she waited for the water to heat, Anita allowed her mind to drift back over the events of the day. The seemingly minor argument with her co-worker probably wouldn't have fazed anybody else, but the slightest confrontation was enough to drive Anita into the ladies restroom to spent the better part of her lunch break trying to regulate her breathing and calm the rapid beat of her pulse, strong enough her heart would surely pound a hole through her chest. For the rest of the day, she had struggled to keep it together, keep a poker face so that no-one would guess she was suffering from a minor freak-out – imagine what people would think, what they would say had they known…

The shrill whistle of the kettle snapped her back to the present. Taking a deep breath Anita forced her mind blank, trying simply to enjoy the smell of earl grey tea rising from the steaming mug. Moving back into the living room, she had just sunken into her favourite armchair, and raised the cup of tea to her lips when a loud thump broke the stillness of the room. Anita jolted in surprise, causing her to spill tea all down the front of her blouse. "Damn it, icing on the cake that was this crappy day!"

Heaving a sigh, she pulled herself out of the chair and moved back towards the kitchen to grab a tea towel to try and soak up some of the tea, she did her best to ignore the faint tapping coming from her door; since she wasn't expecting anyone and had no desire to interact with anybody, Anita felt no need to open the door to whoever was trying to bother her. However when the tapping stopped and a weak voice called out "Hello, is anyone there…please…" she couldn't find it in her to ignore the pitiful plea. She quickly made her way over to the door, but upon opening it she was confused to find no-one standing there, but when she happened to glance down-ward she saw a dark haired man crumpled on the floor.

Forgetting all about her previous reluctance, Anita crouched down and gently lifted the strangers head, finding beautiful blue eyes glazed with pain looking back at her. "Are you okay? What's happened to you?" Scanning his face, she noticed the cut lip and large bruise forming on his sharp cheekbone. "Um, I – I don't really know, I was walking home and someone, ah…. someone attacked me… I think he took my wallet – ""It's alright; come one, let's get you up." Grabbing his hands, Anita pulled him to his feet as smoothly as she could. Once up, he swayed on his feet, looking as if the slightest breeze could blow his slender form back to the ground. She quickly draped one of his arms over her shoulders, and then wrapped her arm around his waist to support him as she led him inside her flat.

Leaving the door open, Anita slowly helped him to the kitchen and eased him down into one of the chairs at her small table, then moved over to the freezer to grab some ice. She wrapped it in a clean tea towel, and then gently pressed it to the side of the man's face. He shied away for a moment before allowing the cold to soak into his bruised cheek.

The pair remained like that in a comfortable silence for a minute before Anita realized that she didn't know a thing about the man sitting in front of her "Can you remember your name?" The stranger seemed to hesitate before answering "It's Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes." So this was her other neighbour – she should have guessed. "Is there anyone I can call for you Sherlock?"

Cocking his head to the side, he appeared to be listening for something. Then, the sound of the front door opening reached them "If I'm not mistaken, I believe my 'someone' has just arrived home."


	3. Chapter 3

John trudged through the door of 221B Baker Street, exhausted from working a gruelling 12 hour shift at the clinic. He felt a blessed moment of relief that it was Saturday tomorrow, before remembering that he was rostered to work again. He resisted the urge to slam the door in a very Sherlock-like way, instead making sure to ease it closed until the loud 'thunk' of the deadbolt falling into place was heard.

"Um, John, is that you?" It wasn't till he heard the unfamiliar female voice calling out that John noticed the door of his reclusive neighbours flat was wide open; wild thoughts of burglars, assassins and American agents ran through his head as he rushed into Anita's apartment, braced for action. He was confused, but immensely relieved to find only Anita and Sherlock in the flat. Taking in Sherlock's beaten appearance, John blurted out "Bloody Hell Sherlock, what have you done to yourself this time?" Sherlock sent John a quick frown before schooling his features into something very similar to that of a kicked puppy and aiming his big blue eyes at Anita.

Sensing that his flat mate was most definitely up to some mischief, John decided to humour him and play along with what-ever he was playing at. Clearing his throat, he tried again "Ah, I mean are you okay – what's happened?" Knowing from experience that Sherlock could take quite a beating, despite his deceptively frail looking frame, John did his best to put some measure of concern on his face.

Still holding the ice against Sherlock's face, Anita noticed his hesitation in answering "He said he was mugged – looks like he took a couple of serious knocks. Do you think we should get him to a doctor?" John's mouth immediately formed a self-satisfied smirk, and his chest puffed out just enough to catch Sherlock's attention. Before John could come up with some pathetic pickup line while casually dropping the information that he is, in fact, a doctor, Sherlock cut him off rather more sharply than intended "No, can't stand doctors! Once I'm back upstairs I'll be fine." Anita looked surprised, and a bit suspicious, at this forceful exclamation so Sherlock quickly back tracked. In a much quieter, tentative tone of voice he muttered "Ah, that is to say, if John would help me up to the flat – I just need to rest in my own bed, with a soothing cup of tea. I'm sure I'll be right as rain in a few days time." He winced for good measure as he pulled himself to his feet. Once standing, he unconsciously shifted slightly so that his body blocked Anita from John's view before leaning down a pressing a soft kiss to her cheek "Thank you for your assistance this evening." He then turned on his heel and limped towards the door before she could reply.

Looking torn as to whether or not to follow Sherlock or stay and flirt with his pretty neighbour, John sighed after a moments deliberation "Right, well better go check on him then. Hope to see you around Anita." She could no nothing more than nod as she was still shocked by Sherlock's forwardness, busy deciding if she should be offended or charmed by the sweet gesture.

John lingered a moment more before reluctantly turning and trudging out the door after Sherlock. Mind busy digesting the strange meeting with her other neighbour, the difficulties of her day quietly slipped from Anita's head.


	4. Chapter 4

"What the bloody hell was that all about Sherlock?" entering their flat, this time John did slam the door behind him. Replaying the whole episode on his way up the stairs, he decided there were only two explanations for Sherlocks bizarre behaviour; either his brains were addled by the blows he had received to the head, or he was involving their new neighbour in one of his experiments. If it was the first, then John actually wouldn't be too concerned – he'd had just about enough of Sherlocks usual personality, so a change in behaviour would be quite a treat. And if I were the second explanation, Sherlock better be prepared to cop an earful about it.

Sherlock gave a sigh as John entered the flat "Oh do be quiet John, I could hear you thoughts yelling at me all the way up the stairs." Hearing the mix of impatience and superiority in Sherlocks drawled comment, John realized that it was definitely explanation number two. Moving over to where Sherlock was reclined on the sofa, he stood over him, arms crossed and brows lowered in an irate scowl and waited. Quickly realizing that John was determined to have discourse with him, Sherlock opened his eyes and sat up "You're attempts at intimidation are really quite laughable John. Sit down would you." John hesitated a moment before he complied, and it was only when he dropped into his favourite arm chair that he remembered how tired he was. Rubbing a hand across his aching eyes he tried to figure out the best way to convince his stubborn flat mate to leave Anita alone. "It's all well and good for you to perform you social experiments on me, or Mrs Hudson, even Lestrade, but you have to limit yourself to people who know you Sherlock. With your acting skills other people won't realize that you aren't being genuine, and really-" Getting the gist of what he was trying to say, Sherlock cut him off "John, am I to conclude from your ramblings that you think my interaction with our neighbour was all for some experiment?"

John got defensive when he saw that Sherlock looked surprised and slightly disappointed at his conclusion "Well it was either that or your brains were scrambled when that thug used your face as a punching bag" he snapped out peevishly. Sherlock let out a chuckle as he fished around his inner pocket before carelessly tossing his wallet onto the couch beside him "There was never any thug John, I just needed an excuse to get into her apartment. Since you weren't about to be of assistance, I got one of my homeless network to hit me a few times." Seeing the confusion on Johns face, he explained further "From what I gleaned from you and Mrs Hudson, as well as observing Anitas comings and goings, I hypothesized that she must have some form of social anxiety – shy, reclusive, and flustered by any unexpected contact with others. So I needed to get her in a place she is comfortable with, and appear as non-threatening as possible."

"I understand that you were curious about her, but why go to all that trouble when you could have just caught her in the hallway on her way in or out?" John was still having trouble comprehending his actions. Sherlock took pity on his slow working mind "Because a wise man learns not only from his own mistakes, but from the mistakes of others. Observing how well your approach worked, I planned mine for the best possible outcome."

An awful thought suddenly dawned on John "Wait a minute, you aren't saying that you are, well, _interested_ in her are you? Never mind that this is completely out of character for you, but you knew I fancied her first!" Sherlock should have known that John would not bow out gracefully "You already have a plethora of available women you can attempt and fail at a relationship with John, is it really too much to ask that you leave me this one?"

"But you don't even like woman, or men for that matter – you're married to your work remember?"

"Don't be offended John, it was simply my way of avoiding any sort of awkward pickup attempt from you." Ignoring Johns chocked noise of indignation, Sherlock continued "And really most people are so dreadfully dull, but Anita is different." Sherlock frowned as he tried to put into words the feeling of calmness she exuded "She is like the eye of the storm; in a world of chaos she is quiet and still - without even trying she sooths my mind with her mere presence. I've never met anyone capable of that before."

John was shocked – in all the years he had known Sherlock, this was the first time he had heard him admit to having feelings about anyone. Despite Sherlocks claims otherwise, John knew that he was protective of Mrs Hudson, touched by Mycrofts concern, and fond of his flat mate, but to hear him actually come out and say anything along those lines was unheard of. As John was equally fond of Sherlock, he decided to let him have this one. "Right then, what can I do to help?"


End file.
